TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

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SCOTUS: Warrant Not Necessary to Draw Blood from Unconscious Person Suspected of DUI

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 27, 2019
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer joined with conservatives Thursday in a decision that allows police in most circumstances to obtain a blood draw from an unconscious motorist without getting a warrant, the ABA Journal reports. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the plurality opinion, saying the blood draw is generally permitted under the “exigent circumstances” exception to the Fourth Amendment’s general requirement of a warrant. The exception allows warrantless searches to prevent the dissipation of evidence, which consists of the dissipation of blood alcohol from metabolic processes in drunken-driving cases.

SCOTUS: Legislative Branch, Not Judicial, Responsible for Gerrymandering Problem

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 27, 2019
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court
In a 5-4 decision along traditional conservative-liberal ideological lines, the Supreme Court ruled that partisan redistricting is a political question — not reviewable by federal courts — and that those courts can't judge if extreme gerrymandering violates the constitution, NPR reports. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, noted that excessive partisanship in the drawing of districts does lead to results that "reasonably seem unjust," but he said that does not mean it is the court's responsibility to find a solution. The ruling puts the onus on the legislative branch, and on individual states, to police redistricting efforts.

After SCOTUS Blocks Citizenship Question, Trump Says He'll Delay Census

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 27, 2019
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court
President Trump today vowed to try delaying the 2020 census after the Supreme Court blocked his administration's plan to include a question that inquires about citizenship status, Fox News reports. The court had said that the administration's explanation for adding the question was insufficient and sent it back to the lower courts for further consideration. The 5-4 ruling, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, said that the court was presented "with an explanation for agency action that is incongruent with what the record reveals about the agency’s priorities and decision making process."

SCOTUS Tosses Tennessee Liquor Store Residency Law

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 26, 2019
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court today tossed out a Tennessee law that required liquor store owners to live in the state two years before they could open a business here, the Commercial Appeal reports. In a 7-2 decision, the justices said the regulation illegally infringed on interstate commerce protections provided by the U.S. Constitution. Their ruling eliminates a barrier for out-of-state owners trying to get a liquor license and conduct business in Tennessee. It came in the case of a Memphis couple that tried to open a liquor store after they moved from Utah to Tennessee to find better care for their daughter with a disability.

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Auer Deference

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 26, 2019
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court
The legal drive to rein in the power of federal regulators hit an unexpected stumbling block yesterday as the Supreme Court narrowly rejected an opportunity to overturn Auer deference, a precedent in which courts let federal agencies interpret their own regulations, Politico reports. The case involved a challenge to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ partial denial of retroactive benefits to a Vietnam War veteran. An appeals court deferred to the VA’s decision, but after the high court ruling, Kisor’s claim will be sent back down for another review. Chief Justice John Roberts split with his Republican-appointed colleagues by refusing to strike down the longstanding legal rule. In his criticism of the decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch said that Auer deference remained an affront to the role of judges and to the public’s right to know — in advance — what legal standard it is bound by.

Federal Law Barring Trademarks for ‘Immoral or Scandalous’ Ideas Struck Down

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 24, 2019
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court
In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sided with a Los Angeles designer who sought to trademark "FUCT" for his clothing line but was blocked by a federal law prohibiting registration of "immoral or scandalous" ideas, ABC News reports.  Justice Elana Kagan wrote the majority opinion, saying the law violates the First Amendment. Judging which ideas are “immoral or scandalous” is highly subjective and potentially discriminatory, Kagan wrote.

SCOTUS Shoots Down Tougher Sentences for Gun Crimes

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 24, 2019
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch sided with the high court’s liberals to strike down a law that calls for longer sentencing when a person uses a firearm in connection with a “crime of violence,” Fox News reports. Writing the majority opinion, Gorsuch said the stated definition of a “crime of violence” – that is, a felony “that by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense” – was confusing and vague.

SCOTUS Strikes Down Conviction of Mississippi Man Who Spent 22 Years on Death Row

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 21, 2019
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court has struck down the conviction of an African American death row inmate who was prosecuted six times for the same crime and by the same prosecutor, a man with a history of racial bias in jury selection, NPR reports. Curtis Flowers has spent 22 years on death row in Mississippi. In his cases, the same prosecutor struck 41 of 42 prospective black jurors. Writing for the court's 7-2 majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said, "The numbers speak loudly. Over the course of the first four trials, there were 36 black prospective jurors against whom the State could have exercised a peremptory strike. The State tried to strike all 36."

ABA Submits Amicus Brief Calling for SCOTUS to End Nonunanimous Juries

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 19, 2019
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court
The American Bar Association submitted an amicus brief this week to the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that it’s time to extend the Sixth Amendment right to a unanimous jury to the states, the ABA Journal reports. The brief was filed in Ramos v. Louisiana, a criminal appeal the court has accepted for its fall 2019 term. The Sixth Amendment guarantees unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases; Evangelisto Ramos argues that the justices should apply that to the states using the 14th Amendment. “The court’s precedents on the Sixth Amendment and on incorporation make clear that unanimity is required in state and federal courts alike,” the brief says. “The ABA therefore respectfully submits that the court should bring to an end this unusual and unfortunate aspect of our criminal justice system.”

SCOTUS Agrees to Hear Racial Bias Case Against Comcast

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jun 10, 2019
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court
The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to hear cable television operator Comcast Corp’s bid to throw out comedian and producer Byron Allen’s racial bias lawsuit accusing the company of discriminating against black-owned channels, Reuters reports. At the heart of the case is the question of whether individuals who are refused a business contract can sue under the civil rights law without ruling out reasons other than discrimination for the denial. The 9th Circuit said lawsuits can proceed to trial if plaintiffs can show that discriminatory intent was one factor among others in the denial of a contract.
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